


save a horse (ride a cowboy)

by ecchigo



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Age Difference, Alexandria Safe-Zone (Walking Dead), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Older Man/Younger Woman, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Character Death, Past Relationship(s), Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Tags Are Hard, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:40:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29724315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ecchigo/pseuds/ecchigo
Summary: But her evaluationof my cowboy reputationhad my begging for salvationall night long!
Relationships: Rick Grimes/Reader
Kudos: 4





	save a horse (ride a cowboy)

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) by Big and Rich -- this song just screams Rick Grimes in my opinion, so I wanted to write a lil spicy number dedicated to him but it ended up evolving into something a bit bigger  
> It'll make sense eventually I promise :''')  
> there's gonna be at least a few more chapters for this with at least two being moderately spicy before the big sauce ;)  
> hope you enjoy!! <3

The road to Alexandria had been a long, difficult one.

To be honest, you hadn’t been sure you’d ever make it there – not that it had been your goal in the first place, but it was the safe zone you’d been praying for since the prison fell.

You tried not to think too hard about what had happened, but even so, you saw the flames and the faces in your dreams. And the disaster that Terminus ended up being, a makeshift lie at the end of the line. And then, there was the revelation that Eugene had been lying to you all since the beginning; he wasn’t a scientist; he couldn’t find the cure.

It had all been too much. But then Aaron had found you, and brought you to Alexandria, and here you were.

You were having a bit of trouble adjusting, to be honest.

Despite the walls, the calm atmosphere, the carefree people, you just couldn’t relax. You knew some of the others were feeling the same way, cautious and defensive, which made you feel a little better, to be honest. At least you weren’t alone.

The late night air was cool, clean, and you took solace in the sight of the moon. You looked to it often, in faint hope that your family, some halfway across the world, would also see it and think of you. If they were still alive, that is. You didn’t know, and without a boat or a plane or a re-established wifi connection, you maybe never would. But that was okay, you’d made your peace with it a long time ago. Now, your family was here, with the people you had met along with way.

You hadn’t been out long when someone came to find you. You hadn’t gone far, settling quietly on the porch steps in front of your new house, but even so, you knew better than to expect anything else from your makeshift family. Behind you, the door opened, flooding you with light for a short moment before it was closed again.

“You doing okay?”

Rough with exhaustion, you recognized the voice right away anyway – it was Rick.

Dependable, kind, handsome Rick. You offered him a quick smile when he came to sit next to you, the steps creaking under his weight. He was alone.

“Finally get Judy to settle?” You asked, shifting a little to make room for him beside you. He smiled at that, like a ray of sunshine in this bleak world, and you tried not to be too starstruck. Since Lori died, you know that his children were the only thing to keep him going – you didn’t blame him for that. Losing your spouse was hard enough before this all went down, but now it just seemed 10 times harder. But he had made it out the other side, it seemed.

“Yeah, she’s asleep.” The lines that crinkled around his eyes softened, and he turned his gaze to the street, “It’s quiet out here. Peaceful. Almost feels normal.”

You followed suit, to the family of four that lived across from you; they were playing some kind of game, you could see through the cracks in the blinds. It was such a stark difference to the world that you knew that existed outside these walls. You’d have to talk to Reg in the morning about helping reinforce them. You didn’t want this to end for these people, no matter how naïve that thought was. You only wish you could have been so lucky.

“I’m happy we’re here.” Your voice was quiet now, and the breeze shifted your unruly hair, “I really think we can have a life here. Our children can have a life.”

You don’t miss the look he sends you. He’s not quite sure yet. He doesn’t trust these people.

You understand Rick’s skepticism, you really do. Your group has been fucked over one too many times in the past, so it’s no wonder that he’s so on edge.

But for the sake of the children, you want this to work. For Maggie, and Sasha, and Noah. And for the rest of your family.

“You really believe that?” He doesn’t sound sure.

You do. You need to be. Someone needs to have faith, to extend the olive branch, as it were, to this community of strangers that offered their hand to you.

You nod.

He laughs a bit, a low rumble from deep in his chest, but it isn’t a condescending sound; you think he wants to believe it to.

“Well, we’ll see.” He gets to his feet again, and offers you a hand up, “We’re all gonna spend the night in the front room. See if we really can trust these people.”

They must have decided while you were outside. But it was fair enough, so you would accept it.

And his hand, which was so much bigger than your own, warm and calloused yet incredibly gentle with you.

He pulled you up, and together, you returned inside.


End file.
